More trouble for Karmapa

Feb 4, 2011

Category: Police Raid Jan 2011

DHARAMSALA: There seems to be no end of trouble for 17th Karmapa, Ogyene Trinley Dorjee and head of the Kagyu sect, as the land of Gyuto monastery at Sidhbarri, about 8 kilometres from here, housing Karmapa, has come under scanner. During the course of the ongoing investigations into the seizure of huge haul of foreign currency including Chinese yuan from monastery, it has come to the fore that the construction of monastery on the land at Sidhbarri was illegal and in contravention of the laws. Interestingly, the monastery had been reportedly constructed before 2000, the land for which was purchased on November 15, 2002. The Karmapa had been living here for the past 11 years in the monastery after he was granted refuge by Indian government following his dramatic escape from China in January 2000.

The state government has reportedly not accorded any approval for the purchase of such land and also for the construction of the building on it. The state government has sent a detailed report to the centre in this regard. The monastery had been constructed on a land measuring about 95 Kanals (10 acres) which had been under illegal control of about 70 people and had been registered under the fake names of Arun Dorje ( Mcleodganj )and Prem Singh of Bhuntar( Kullu).

The registration had been executed by revenue officials throwing all norms to the wind. Not only this, the revenue officials allegedly wrongly attested the mutation of 2.5 acres of the land in monastery's control on October 29, 2008 in the name of Prem Singh. The mutation for the remaining land was pending and yet to be done. There is also no mention of the monastery having been constructed on the land in the revenue records. The said land also falls in the category of agriculture land due to which it could be bought only by agriculturists of the state and no other person or organisation without proper permission from the state government as per section 118 of Himachal Pradesh land and tenancy act. The police continues the interrogation of the officials of Karmapa trust in connection with the huge haul of foreign currency recovered from the Gyutso monastery at Sidhbarri, 8 kilometres from here. The officials of the trusts were interrogated on Thursday and earlier on Wednesday. Meanwhile, secretary of Karmapa, Gompa Tsering and Tenzin Namgyal, member of Karmapa trust had applied for a bail before the local court. Their application for bail would be heard on Monday by court.

Dharamsala northern range IG P L Thakur speaking to TOI said interrogations into Karmapa trust officials pertaining to seizure of foreign currency will continue. He said that the land on which Gyuto monastery (Sidhbarri) has been constructed was also investigated. Thakur disclosed that ED directorate has been handed over the documents recovered by the police in regard to the violations made under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by Karmapa monastery. He said that it was the ED's decision investigate further in regard to the FEM violation by Karmapa monastery and register a case.